What Doesn't Kill You
by Yuushi-chan
Summary: This story follows the battles and hardships of Kakashi Hatake during the Fourth Shinobi World War. His fight to protect what he believes in, to protect his sensei's child, Naruto Uzumaki, and to stop Madara Uchiha from completing the Moon's Eye Plan.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**Setting/Information:** Fourth Shinobi World War, Day One, Division Three: Short and Mid-Range Battle Division, Land of Hot Springs.

**What Doesn't Kill You**

**Chapter 1**

Kakashi and his division had arrived just in time to save Sai, Omoi, and Zaji from being killed by the enemy. Kakashi was surprised to see Zabuza and Haku among the resurrected.

"Kakashi-san?" Haku questioned meeting the resistance of the Third Division commander.

"Kakashi-san, you saved us," Sai said standing behind Kakashi.

Without taking his eyes off of any of the resurrected enemies Kakashi answered, "It's a bit early to be celebrating. All these guys are extremely dangerous."

Zabuza spoke then. "I knew I'd end up fighting someone, but I never imagined it would be you, Kakashi. I should've been sent to hell after your group finished me on the bridge. Next thing I know, I'm standing next to Haku. And I thought something was off. I guess this really isn't hell…or heaven."

"No, this is the real world," Kakashi said. "And none of you belong here anymore."

"Zabuza, Haku…" Sakura trailed off.

The men behind the divisions waiting for Kakashi's orders seemed confused by the words that were exchanged. Some of them questioned if Zabuza and Kakashi knew each other.

"Heh, Kakashi's kunoichi student, you sure grew up." Zabuza commented. "How's that other kid? He doing okay?"

"What? Umm…y-yes," Sakura answered the question.

"He must be pretty famous these days, after helping you beat the two of us," Zabuza meant Naruto.

"Yup, they named that bridge "The Great Naruto Bridge," and these days the villagers call him a hero," Kakashi explained still holding back Zabuza.

Haku laughed lightly.

"Thanks to you two," Kakashi continued. "Naruto found his path in life…his own "ninja way," and he swore to you on both your graves that he'd always follow it. And he did. He's become an admirable shinobi."

"Then I'm sure," Haku spoke. "He'll continue to grow even stronger."

Zabuza twitched then and pushed more force against Kakashi's grip.

"Kakashi…please…stop us," Zabuza got out before his personality was gone and he was completely taken over control.

Kakashi and the others jumped back away from the resurrected. Some of the shinobi recognized them.

"There's no doubt about it! The demon Zabuza, and a child from the cursed ice-wielding Yuki clan." One shinobi exclaimed.

"My mind is fading," Haku stated.

"God dammit!" Zabuza yelled.

"That hellish aura…the Demon Zabuza," Guy said. "And an ice element user."

"Get ready!" Kakashi cautioned. "Stay focused, Guy. Zabuza's silent killing prowess is second to none."

Haku spoke again, "Kakashi-san, I must ask you to please stop us again. My dream was to protect, to save Zabuza-san, and die as his too. If Zabuza-san has also been summoned with this technique…then I must have failed on that day. And now…I cannot even be his tool, much less defend him."

"No, you saved his life," Kakashi told Haku. "Zabuza dies for another reason…and he didn't just view you as a tool."

Haku looked surprised at Kakashi's comment.

"Kakashi, keep your blabber mouth shut!" Zabuza threatened.

"Naruto drove something home to Zabuza." Kakashi told Haku to make him understand.

Zabuza raised his head to look into Kakashi's face. "Kakashi, don't hold back. Stop me whatever it takes. I'm already dead. My humanity is dead!"

Kakashi lifted the hitai-ate from his Sharingan, "Yeah…got it."

"Here they come," one shinobi said. "General Kakashi, the man from Iwagakure has a bloodline limit..Blast Element. He's Gari, a former member of the Blast Corps. And the woman is Paku, she uses Suna's scorch element. Please be careful!"

Zabuza performed the Hidden Mist technique to blot out everyone from view.

"Nothing but kekkei genkai…" Kakashi said. He turned to the shinobi behind him to shout orders. "Group the battle squadrons around the sensor ninjas. Everyone else cover them from three, six, nine, twelve o'clock in a manji formation! Zabuza can detect his target's position through sound alone!"

Kakashi, Gai, Lee, and Sakura had their backs turned towards each other in a manji formation.

"Thickening fog, visability getting worse by the second…this must be the hidden mist technique," Gai said.

"There's nothing to be afraid of!" Lee stated. "I'll protect you even if it costs me my life, Sakura-san!"

Not taking any nonsense at the moment, Sakura countered, "Last time he caught us from this formation's only blind spot, the center. Watch your back, too."

"What?" Lee yelled. "Oh…right."

Out of the mist came yells of pain and fear. There was a clash of metal from within the heavy fog.

"They're attacking," Kakashi said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The battle had become a life or death situation for everyone fighting. Shinobi were being burned from the inside out by Paku's Scorch Element: Steaming Slaughter. One of the Shinobi in Kakahi's platoon was blown to bits by Gari's Blast Element technique.

Haku flew through his mirrors catching the shinobi off guard.

"Leaf Coiling Whirlwind!" Gai and Lee shouted blocking Haku with a swift kick to the chest.

Gai turned to the shinobi standing behind him, "You will see your comrades die on the battlefield! You must be prepared for that! But if you lose your head you'll see more of them die than necessary! Turn one comrade's death into another's life! You got that rookie?"

Kakashi was trading blows with Zabuza trying to keep him at bay and simultaneously assessing the enemies' abilities.

Sakura was trying her best to heal anyone who wasn't dead. There were so many injured already and it had only been a few minutes.

Paku and Gari stopped their attacks and performed summoning techniques. Six coffins rose from the ground. The tops dropped forward and the other six Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist stepped forth.

"You're kidding me…not them, too!" Kakashi said looking on at the opponents. "The last generation of the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist!"

"Is team Ensui ready yet?" Kakashi called to Nara clan's team.

"Almost!" Ensui called back.

"Aki from Suna, what about you?" Kakashi questioned.

"Ready and waiting!" Aki called back.

"Hit them all at once," Kakashi ordered. "Buy us as much time as possible!"

A cloud of shuriken and kunai blotted all remaining light from the sky as they flew towards the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. When the dust cleared and no more weapons were flying Kakashi saw that their opponents had not moved an inch from their positions and no damage was done to their bodies.

Some of the men began to panic as they realized this battle may end in all their deaths. One shinobi noted that only Zabuza had a sword and their swords were half their power anyway.

Kakashi looked among the Swords men, _No, they brought swords_. He noted to himself.

One of the swordsmen opened a scroll and the others summoned their blades. They now stood in front of the Allied Shinobi Army with their greatest and most effective weapons in hand.

"But not everyone's," Kakashi noted seeing two of the swordsmen without their blades.

"The fog's getting thicker…I can't see a thing," Gai stated. "And with their silent killing techniques we can't use our ears either."

"We need to do something about this mist first or the army will be in bad shape," Kakashi said.

From behind Ensui shouted, "General Kakashi! The Shadow Mimic is complete!"

"Good," Kakashi said now having his shadow controlled by the Nara. "Ensui, loosen the binding and let me move as I want."

"Yes, Sir!" Ensui responded.

"Yamanaka Santa, you'll use the Mind-Body Switch and trade places with me," Kakashi ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" The Yamanaka answered.

"Use your sensing abilities to locate the enemy and get my body as close as possible, preferably behind them. We'll hit Zabuza first! As soon as you detect him, release the jutsu and send me back to my body. As I fight him I'll get our shadows to converge." Kakashi took a breath and finished relaying his plan. "The moment I do that, Ensui, you'll combine the Shadow Switch Jutsu with the Shadow Mimic, raise the power, and bind him completely! Maki will rush in and immobilize Zabuza completely with the Cloth-Bind Jutsu. Let's Roll!"

And the plan was in action! Yamanaka Santa performed the Mind-Body Switch and began to move Kakashi's body toward the enemy's line. As Zabuza mowed down the closest shinobi of the allied forces, Kakashi was placed behind him. Yamanaka released the jutsu and Kakashi could sense that Zabuza hadn't noticed him yet. Kakashi had Raikiri ready to strike and as his hand was inches away from Zabuza's back Haku places himself between the two shinobi and took the blow.

Haku held strong onto Kakashi's wrist imbedding in his body. Zabuza ignored Haku's presence and sliced through him and through Kakashi's abdomen at the same time. Kakashi marveled at how similar the situation was to the first time they fought. He remembered what Naruto told him about his ninja way and how that first battle shaped him into the shinobi he was today.

"I'm glad you two were Naruto's first opponents," Kakashi said calmly with a smile in his eyes.

Zabuza raised his sword and Kakashi prepared for battle again.

"Maki, stay back and keep your Cloth-Bind jutsu at the ready until I give the signal," Kakashi ordered.

"Right," She answered.

Kakashi thought about how Zabuza hesitated the first time when he was about to cut through Haku to get to Kakashi. He formed the Raikiri again.

"But this time is different! You're nothing more than emotionless tools." Kakashi rushed toward Zabuza. "It's time to end these fights!"

Kakashi's fist pierced Zabuza's chest and they stood in the same spot.

"Ensui, now!" Kakashi yelled at the Nara. The Shadow-Mimic jutsu was complete. "I'm a shinobi with things he wants to protect, too. And the way Zabuza and Haku left this world was one of them, because I was their final opponent…what do you think, Naruto?"

Haku's mirrors shattered around them as his soul began to leave this world again.

"Maki, now!" Kakashi yelled.

Maki bound Zabuza and Haku's bodies and sealed them.

"As long as these tags remain intact they can't be summoned again." Maki explained. "I'll keep both bodies under surveillance!"

Kakashi picked up Zabuza's blade, Kubikiribōchō.

"Impure World Resurrection…its use can never be forgiven!" Kakashi stated. "Sai, next we'll need your Root sealing techniques, follow my lead!"

"B-but I don't know how," Sai hesitated.

"I know you were one of Danzo's prized soldiers! There's no more need to hold back your emotions!" Kakashi told him. "Look…it takes a lot for me to get worked up, but this time my boiling point's as low as it's ever been. The Copy Ninja Kakashi, the man who copied a thousand jutsu …is about to go on a rampage!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kakashi darted forward toward another member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Just as he was about to land a blow to his head the man slipped away under his arm and got behind him. A line of wire slashed out of the katana and nearly latched onto Kakashi's wrist.

Kakashi was faster and was determined to send all of them back to their graves where they belong. He just had to get the sword away from this guy and incapacitate him long enough for either Maki or Sai to seal him. Kakashi used his sharingan to follow the man's movements. He was graceful in his movements, but unorthodox. Kakashi had a hard time predicting where he would end up.

Finally, Kakashi found the weak spot. When the Swordsman let the wire out from the end of the katana it wrapped around a shinobi from Kakashi's squad. Kakashi quickly pulled a kunai out of his pouch and pushed his chakra though it. Before the Swordsman could finish the shinobi, Kakashi cut through the wire making the katana all but a useless piece of metal.

"Sai," Kakashi called. "I need you over here!" Without taking his eyes off his opponent, Kakashi could feel the boy's presence.

Kakashi lunged at the Swordsman, but found that this man would be harder to defeat than he thought. He didn't need his sword to defeat an opponent. He was fast, very fast. He slipped around Kakashi's punches and kept trying to move to get behind Kakashi.

Sai pulled his tanto out and prepared to help Kakashi, but before he could engage in battle he heard the silver haired man yell out to him.

"No, Sai," Kakashi said without looking at him. "Do not engage in battle unless it is essential to your life. We need you to help seal these bastards."

"Hai, Senpai," Sai answered and in minutes Kakashi had finally gotten hold of the Swordsman by the wrist and pound him into the ground. Sai took this chance to seal him. "Sealing successful."

"On to the next one, I guess," Kakashi answered the black haired boy.

Kakashi ran to the aid on Gai and a Sand shinobi who were fighting a very powerful Swordsman with a large lethal sword. As Kakashi arrived he noticed the sword looked like an ax. There were dead shinobi hacked away around his feet. Blood seeped into the dry ground staining the dirt a deep red.

"Gai, what's the situation?" Kakashi asked.

"He's strong, but that's not why he's so dangerous. If all he was was strong, then I'd have no problem," Gai told him. "Every time he swings that sword it creates something akin to a cyclone. The wind kicks up everything on the ground. It gets in your eyes, and that's when he strikes. Hacking away at the shinobi you now see at his feet."

The Swordsman laughed a deep winded laugh. He swung the sword and the cyclone began, pulling blood soaked dirt, grass, and metal shards into the wind. It was moving fast toward the four shinobi.

"Don't get caught in it," Gai warned. "Keep your eye on the opponent. Try to get behind him."

The cyclone swooped toward the group. Gai managed to get past the spiraling wind and brought a swift kick to the resurrected swordsman. He lost control and the cyclone disappeared. Gai took this opportunity to attack fiercely. After a series of punches and kicks the swordsman was missing both of his arms. Kakashi used the Kubikiribocho from behind to slice him in half.

"Sai, seal him," Kakashi called to the former ANBU.

"Right," Sai yelled as he performed the sealing. The swordsman was pulled into the scroll by one of Sai's giant painted tigers. He was panting. This was the second sealing he had done within ten minutes. It was taxing on his body and mind.

Kakashi landed next to him, "Hang in there,"

"I will be fine," Sai answered.

The sun was falling behind the horizon. Vision was being blotted out by darkness. Teams were still fighting the resurrected swordsman when suddenly the enemy stopped altogether and coffins rose from the ground. The remaining of the resurrected retreated into the coffins and disappeared.

Kakashi gave a sigh of relief. His body was tired and sore, his chakra lower than he would like it to be. Sai hung his head as he rolled up the scroll.

"What just happened?" Gai asked Kakashi.

"They retreated," Kakashi answered. "They want us to rest. It will make us vulnerable."

"I see," Gai answered. "Any word from HQ?"

"Not yet," Kakashi said as he pulled the hitai-ate over his sharingan.

Kakashi commanded the troops to retreat into the forest. The moon and the stars were replaced by the cover of dense leaves. Kakashi took his place on the branch of a tall tree and rested his back against the trunk. He was able to survey everyone from this spot and could get a good count of who needed the most rest. Shinobi from like villages stayed with their own. He noticed there were very few ninja from Kirigakure in his ranks. It would have helped if there were more. The intel on the swordsmen would have been useful. Kakashi noticed one Kiri-nin in particular; a woman, her hair hidden by the blue cap that bore symbol of the Hidden Mist. Her side swept brown bangs covered her left eye. She wore the typical uniform of a Kiri-nin. She seemed to know he was watching her as she looked up at him in the tree. Their eyes met, his one gray, and her two reddish brown. She had dried blood spattered along the right side of her pale face. She blinked and stood facing him. The three other Kiri-nin around her followed her gave and found Kakashi.

The woman took a few steps forward as if to make contact with him, but hesitated on her third step. She looked back at her comrades. One of them who had shaggy green hair shrugged. She slowly turned her gave back to Kakashi and shook her head slightly before taking her place among the others again.

Kakashi was intrigued by her actions. What had she been thinking? It looked as if she had been clenching her jaw trying not to speak up, but he couldn't be sure. Just then, a member of the intel division came to report to him.

"Kakashi-taicho," he called.

"Hai, what is it?" Kakashi asked dropping down from the tree.

"HQ has gotten information from the other divisions. The White Zetsus are turning into people in our own ranks, even taking on their chakra signatures. Anyone who had contact with the White Zetsus could have been copied," the man explained.

"That shouldn't be a problem here," Kakashi answered. "This division hasn't made any contact with the White Zetsus, just the resurrected. Let HQ know that we are still on high alert."

"Hai," the man went running off.

Gai walked over to Kakashi, "What should we do?"

"You should get some rest," Kakashi told him.

"How could you ever think I could rest at a time like this?" Gai asked giving him a thumbs up.

"I know how you feel, but an attack could happen at any time. We need to build up our chakra reserves again," Kakashi said then raised his voice for everyone else to hear. "Everyone rest up but stay on your guard. Reserve your chakra for battle. That is all."

"Hai," he heard from many different places in the forest. He took his place on the tree branch again and settled down. His eye caught something then. The woman from Kirigakure was resting at the base of a tree facing towards him. She was watching him. When he turned to meet her gaze, she averted her eyes. "Strange," he muttered to himself. He pulled out _Make Out Tactics_ from his back pouch and opened the book to where he left off. The next time he looked down at the woman she was asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Kakashi had closed his eyes for five minutes when he heard a scream in the distance. The sun was rising and the enemy was on the attack again. Kakashi ordered everyone to get ready for battle again. He was on his way toward the rear guard as quickly as possible. He had already encountered too many bodies. When he got to the battlefield he saw Nara Ensui, Lee, and Sai struggling to keep one of the seven swordsmen at bay. The man was strong and his sword did a lot of damage when used properly. There were already quite a few dead around the scene.

Kakashi used the Kubikiribocho to halt the swordsman and begin an attack. Sai got ready to seal him as Kakashi used his best tactics to open up the enemy's defense. Once Kakashi had hacked him down, Sai seal him.

"That's four down," Kakashi said. "Only three more to go."

"Shall we move to the next battlefield, Kakashi-sensei?" Lee asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered. "Let's move."

Lee and Sai followed Kakashi to the next battlefield as Ensui gathered the wounded and led them to the medical corps. Zaji and Omoi were already leading the forces against Fuguki Suikazan. This swordsman didn't have a sword, but he was still putting up one hell of a fight.

"Zaji, Omoi," Kakashi called.

They turned their heads to show they were listening. Their faces were pale from lack of sleep, but there was determination in their eyes.

"Can you take dare of this?" Kakashi asked.

"You bet Kakashi-taicho," Zaji called and Omoi nodded his head.

"Then, I'll leave it to you," Kakashi answered and turned to Sai and Lee. "Let's keep moving."

"Roger," Lee said as he followed Kakashi, Sai at his side. They reached the next battlefield in time to see their forces struggling to fight off the last two Swordsmen. Lee entered the fray and Sai stayed off to the sidelines so he could seal them away when ready. Kakashi was assessing the fight as an intel member caught up with him.

"Sir," he said. "We've gotten word from HQ that Naruto-kun and B-sama have escaped the island and got past Raikage-sama and Hokage-sama."

"What?" Kakashi asked stunned. "Where is Naruto now? Can he control the Nine-tails?"

"He's moving to the battlefront. Every one of them. It seems he is using shadow clones in the kyuubi mode."

"I see," Kakashi was worried now. He knew Naruto was strong, but how strong would he be after using so many shadow clones in his new kyuubi mode. "Let me know when Madara joins the fight. Naruto will surely go after him."

"Yes, Sir," the man yelled and headed to the back staying out of the fight.

Kakashi joined the fight helping to push back the enemy. Gai was at this battlefield. He looked to be fighting very seriously, but he did not look as ragged as some of the other shinobi around him.

Ringo Ameyuri, the lone woman of the seven swordsmen, was the kiba. The lightning style associated with the sword was electrocuting and blasting anyone who got in its way. She was working in tandem with Hozuki Mangetsu taking advantage of his ability to break down his body into water. It made the strike of her sword much more powerful.

Kakashi watched as Gai got behind Mangetsu and attacked with Leaf Coiling Wind. It did nothing. Mangetsu only split in two and put himself back together again using his water ability.

"Damn!" Gai spat. "Nothing works. I can't knock him down enough for the sealing process."

Kakashi joined Gai and watched as a few more shinobi tried to knock him back.

"We need to separate Mangetsu and Ameyuri," Kakashi said. "They are more powerful together than apart."

"But how are we going to keep Mangetsu from getting back to her?" Gai said. "He can move as water."

Just as Kakashi was about to answer Gai someone cut him off.

"I can help you there," it was the woman from Kirigakure. Now that she was standing in front of Kakashi, he could see that she was average height. Her navy blue shirt was asymmetrical with the right sleeve being very long and large and the left sleeve being nonexistent.

"What can you do?" Kakashi asked her.

"I can stop him long enough for the sealing team to do their job," she answered him.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He was skeptical, but at the moment he had no other choice.

"I just need you to help me get into one of his blind spots," she said. "Distract him."

"What's your name?" Gai asked.

She turned to look at him, her reddish brown eyes assessing him. "Satsu."

"Gai," he answered. "I'll try to distract him long enough to let you get behind him."

Gai ran off towards Mangetsu. The other troops had managed to separate Ameyuri and Mangetsu. Satsu turned to Kakashi. Her eyes shifted to the sharingan. Their eyes stayed boring holes into each other. Satsu was the one to break the gaze.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked.

"Hai," she said and without another word she body flickered across the field.

Kakashi joined Gai in distracting Mangetsu. He kept his guard up and focused on the fight, but at the same time watched for Satsu. He wanted to make sure Maki had enough time begin the sealing process. Mangetsu was without a sword, but he was still able to perform high level water release jutsu. Kakashi used earth release jutsu to counter the moves and make them ineffective.

"Sealing team, get ready!" Kakashi called. Maki nodded. From behind the battle, Satsu ran towards Mangetsu. She did three quick hand seals, horse, dog, ram. Kakashi and Gai jumped back as Satsu reached her target.

"Suiton: mizu chuushutsu!" (water style: water extraction) she placed two bare fingers on his neck. The area glowed a pale blue and with one quick jerk of bringing her hand back to the center of her body, a long stream of water followed. The stream of water connected her fingers to his body. Mangetsu's body slowed scrunched drying out. Satsu broke the jutsu and Mangetsu fell to his knees dehydrated and incapacitated for the moment. Maki jumped in and within seconds sealed his body with her cloth.

Satsu joined Gai and Kakashi. The three looked on as Sai sealed Ameyuri. Kakashi heard Satsu release a heavy sigh.

"That was a very helpful jutsu," he complimented her.

"It's one of my favorites," she smirked. Just as she opened her mouth to say something else a shinobi from the intel unit came running across the field.

"General Kakashi," he yelled. "General Kakashi, the masked man has joined the battle and Naruto and B are currently fighting him."

"What are the coordinates?" Kakashi asked becoming very serious again.

The man gave the coordinates and warned him to be very careful.

"Let's go, Gai," Kakashi ordered. The two ran off toward the battlefield where Naruto was fighting. He was so focused on getting to Naruto that he didn't notice he was being followed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning:** Spoilers! If you do not follow the manga, are not caught up with the manga, or only follow the anime, this chapter contains spoilers.

**Chapter 5**

There was a flash of light and a reeling wind in the distance. The gust of air pushed Kakashi and Gai back a few steps.

"We need to hurry," Kakashi ordered.

The two picked up their pace and rushed toward the barren area in the middle of the forest. As soon as Kakashi and Gai entered the battlefield Kakashi looked for Naruto. He saw the Eight-tails fully transformed along with six of the other tailed beasts fully revived. Kakashi's eyes searched frantically for his student. Then, something caught his eye. Naruto was in his kyuubi form. The light coming off of him was like a beacon amongst the destruction. And there standing above him was the masked man, Uchiha Madara.

Kakashi ran forward as fast as he could. Madara's hand was about to connect with Naruto's head. He was going to warp him away to another dimension. In one swift move Gai had slammed his leg into Madara's back and Kakashi grabbed Naruto. He pulled the boy from the scene and jumped back putting distance between them and Madara. Gai had moved out of the way just in time. The five-tails had jumped in to attack Madara. Gai joined Kakashi, Naruto, and the Eight-tails.

"What just happened?" Gai asked.

"It seems that Madara does not have complete control over the tailed beasts," Kakashi answered looking on at the five tails still attacking Madara.

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. "Do you remember when Pain attacked Konoha? The black chakra receivers that were imbedded in all the Pains?"

"Yes," Kakashi answered keeping his full attention on Naruto.

"That's how Madara is controlling all of the resurrected jinchuriki," Naruto told him. "He forced them to fully transform into their bijuu."

"I see," Kakashi said groaning quietly.

As Kakashi looked back at Madara he noticed the Five Tails had been taken over again. It along with the Two Tails, Three Tails, Six Tails, and Seven Tails were standing in a semi-circle looking menacing.

"How is B-sama?" Kakashi asked.

"Still injured," the Eight Tails answered. "I need to regain chakra. There's no way we can fight all of them in this weakened state."

"Understood," Kakashi said. "We'll fend them off the best we can while you gather chakra."

"Kakashi let's go," Gai said and moved forward a few steps keeping his eyes focused on the bijuu.

"Right," Kakashi said walking forward to meet him. "I'll watch your back, you'll watch mine."

The Five Tails, Seven Tails and Two Tails attacked. They ran forward toward Kakashi and Gai. The two shinobi were forced on the defensive the moment the bijuu attacked. At the same time the Six Tails and Four Tails attacked Naruto and B. They were thrown in the opposite direction of Kakashi and Gai.

While Kakashi defended himself against the Two Tails he watched as Naruto was thrown backwards and subsequently swallowed by the Four Tails. Kakashi was ready to turn heel and run to Naruto's aid, but Gai yelled out as he was slashed by the Seven Tails.

"Gai," Kakashi yelled running to help his comrade. "Raikiri!" he screamed and cut at the Seven Tails leaving it howling. Kakashi and Gai retreated.

"Thanks," Gai said huffing.

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked concerned.

"I'll be fine," he answered.

Kakashi formed another raikiri and rushed into battle once more Gai at his side ready to attack as well. On the other side of the battlefield Naruto had forced the Four Tails to regurgitate him. Kakashi used the raikiri to cut off one of the Five Tail's horns. It reared on its hind legs and then bent down low ready to charge at Kakashi.

Across the field the Four Tails was resealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. In that moment the all five remaining tailed beasts turned their sights to Kakashi and Gai. They all opened their mouths and a crackling sound could be heard as dark matter formed. A giant tailed beast ball was being created through all of their efforts.

"I'll use kamui to warp it away," Kakashi said to Gai. He knew it would be the last thing he did before he died.

"No, that will kill you," Gai protested. "I'll use the eight gates to send it in the opposite dir-"

"Don't be stupid," Kakashi growled. "That will kill you, too."

The tailed beast ball was about to be released when there was a flash of yellow shooting past him. Kakashi's mind instantly thought of the Fourth Hokage. His memories returned as he remembered his sensei's flying thunder god jutsu.

"Sensei," Kakashi whispered in shock.

Naruto was fully transformed as the Kyuubi. He deflected the giant tailed beast ball. Kakashi was in shock. This boy, no man now, was his student, the son of the Fourth Hokage, and he was more powerful than he had ever seen him. In Naruto's fully formed state he had absorbed Kakashi and Gai within the chakra. It was a protective barrier. Naruto created a clone in sage mode to locate the chakra receivers into the tailed beasts' bodies. The Seven Tails attacked. Naruto grabbed it in mid-flight and threw it down aiming for the Three Tails. The giant turtle rolled out of the way and the Seven Tails was slammed into the ground. As Naruto hadn't moved very quickly from the attack the Six Tails swallowed the Kyuubi's hand. He was stuck and wasn't able to move out of the way as the Three Tails counter attacked. Just as the tails were about to slash at Naruto, the Eight Tails forced it away. The Two Tails pounced at Naruto from behind, but using all of his strength, Naruto threw the Six Tails, still attached to his hand at the Two Tails. The Eight Tails took on the Five Tails. He grabbed its horns and shook it trying to force it on its back. The tailed beasts formed another tailed beast ball together. Naruto focused and formed his own. He aimed just below their beast ball. The two attacks collided and exploded throwing all parties across the field from each other. A cloud of dust and rubble obscured their view. Naruto formed the nine tails into hands and grabbed each of the tailed beasts by their throats. He then formed a few clones in kyuubi mode to pull out the chakra receivers. The full transformation ended and Kakashi and Gai were returned to the ground.

The masked Madara resealed all of the tailed beasts back into the statue. Naruto chuckled from his place on the ground.

"You may have incapacitated the tailed beasts, but it changes nothing," Madara stated staring at Naruto.

"No, it's not the same as before," Naruto told him. "Because they told me all of their difficult names and taught me a lot of things."

Madara joined the fight attacking at Naruto. Kakashi and Gai joined the fight, too. The battle raged on and soon it was evident that Madara was losing. It was four shinobi and two tailed beasts against one man.

"Now, show us who's really under the mask," Naruto growled.

Madara jumped away from the battle and summoned the Benihisago and Kohaku no Jouhei. He threw the two tools into the Demonic Statue. The final two eyes on the statue opened as it let out a roar.

"And now the Ten Tails can be revived and my plan will be ready to be executed," Madara said. "A partially revived Ten Tails is all I need to complete Infinite Tsukuyomi. I will create a world without heroes, hopes or futures."

Naruto switched to Kyuubi mode again and took off toward the statue aiming to destroy it. He created a rasengan, but before he could reach the statue Madara forced him back with a swift hit from his gunbai. Naruto turned to face the masked Madara and formed another rasengan.

"I'm going to smash your mask first and see who you really are," Naruto yelled.

"I won't let anyone touch the statue," Madara told them.

Naruto regrouped with Kakashi, Gai, and B. They agreed that feint attacks would be the best way to try to lay their hands on Madara. They needed to catch him at multiple times to be able to land any type of hit. Naruto shot off toward Madara again and formed a tiny version of the tailed beast ball. He aimed at Madara's mask, but went straight through him. Gai joined the fight and used his nun chucks. He swung at Madara and used any type of taijutsu moves he could to land a hit on the man. Madara just side stepped every attack. Gai attacked again and when Madara swung his gunbai, Gai swung his nun chucks with such force that sent Madara reeling toward Naruto and the tailed beast ball. Just as he was about to collide with Naruto's attack, Madara teleported.

Madara reappeared from the ground trying to attack Naruto. Naruto had anticipated the move and dodged it. Now Madara was on the offensive. He used the gunbai to attack Naruto. With every swing Naruto had a harder time defending himself.

Kakashi joined the fight and pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch. He infused it with his lightning style chakra. A rock was forced up from the ground as Kakashi hurtled toward the battle. He easily cut through it and threw the kunai that Madara. The man became intangible and then kicked the deadly weapon toward Naruto. Without missing a beat, Kakashi used kamui to warp the kunai into another dimension. Naruto was able to land a punch on Madara's mask. He jumped back regrouping again and looked on at Madara.

Kakashi saw a tiny crack suddenly form on Madara's mask. It surprised him and he thought through the entire last attack.

"Did Naruto's punch do that?" Gai asked.

"No," Kakashi said. "The timing doesn't line up. It has something to do with the alternate dimension and his ability to teleport."

"Kakashi-sensei is right," Naruto explained. "My fist went right through his head."

Gai attacked Madara by breaking the rocks in the ground and sending them flying toward him. He kept up his attack and when he got close Madara was forced to absorb Gai's nun chucks. Naruto attacked from behind with a rasengan. Kakashi used Kamui to send the rasengan into another dimension and Naruto retreated.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"He's only using one jutsu," Kakashi said.

"There's no one better than you at analyzing. Please give us an idea of how his jutsu works," Gai said to Kakashi.

"The way it works is really simply," Kakashi began. "Listen to me. His jutsu to absorb objects and his jutsu to slip through things are both space-time ninjutsu."

"What do you mean?" Gai asked. "How do you know about that?"

"I'll tell you while explaining," Kakashi continued. "First, the scratch on his mask. That mark was definitely left by the kunai I threw with my raikiri. And the scar on his right shoulder, judging by the look of it, was made by Naruto's rasengan. Those two scars have one thing in common. They are on parts of his body that were overlapping with Naruto's body when he was slipping through him. And there's one more thing in common," Kakashi paused. "The fact that they were made by the kunai and rasengan I sent flying to the other dimension with my kamui."

Both Gai and Naruto looked confused and shocked.

"From this I can tell that his space-time ninjutsu is connected to the same dimension my kamui uses." Kakashi finished.

"W-wait!" Gai yelled. "What do you mean? Are you saying that his and your eye techniques are connected?"

"Does this mean that all space-time ninjutsu is always connected no matter who uses it?" the Eight Tails asked.

"No, I don't think so," Kakashi said. "It's probably only me and him."

"Anyway, why did the vanished kunai hit him when my punch didn't?" Naruto asked.

"Idiot!" the Eight Tails growled. "Even if they use the same dimension it doesn't mean that you can land a blow on someone who's transparent, jeez!"

"That way of thinking was a mistake," Kakashi said. "He's not transparent."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"It looked like your blow was slipping through him, but in fact, the part that was overlapping with your body was just moved to the other dimension. In other words, the left part of his face that your fist went through wasn't really transparent, but simply "existing" in the other dimension as a physical object. At roughly the same time I sent my kunai to the other dimension with kamui. When he launched himself forward with his arm extended to grab you, the kunai just finished vanishing next to his face, and left a scratch on his mask."

"Is that what my rasengan did, too?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Kakashi answered quietly as he thought through everything.

"I see," Naruto said.

"But why are your and his eye techniques connected?" the Eight Tails asked.

"Kakashi, he…" Gai trailed off.

Kakashi was fully focused on the masked man, "Where did you get that eye?!"

"Where you say," Madara sneered. "Hn, well it was during the past world war. The fight at the Kannabi Bridge. That fight where you got to be called 'the hero with the sharingan.'"

Kakashi was surprised by his knowledge of that battle and his hidden past, "You…"

"I told you not to open your mouth so easily," Madara said pointing directly at Kakashi. "You're just words and actions. What someone like you says is worth nothing! It's too late to regret. Reality is cruelly moving forward. You've seen reality, you should be able to understand. No wish can come true in this world. That's why I'm pursuing the dream of infinite tsukuyomi. I want to build a world where heroes won't have to make pitiful excuses in front of graves."

Kakashi was deep in thought. He was remembering that battle at Kannabi Bridge when he was thirteen years old and he lost his best friend, Uchiha Obito. He was remembering how every morning when he wakes up too early and can't sleep anymore he visits the graves of his fallen friends and the memorial stone where Obito, Rin, and Minato-sensei's names were carved.

"Kakashi are you okay?" Gai asked putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Bastard!" Naruto yelled pulling Kakashi from his thoughts. "Are you still blabbering about that? I told you already! I won't give up my dream of becoming Hokage! There are many things I was entrusted with."

"Hn…entrusted?" Madara scoffed. "But Naruto, if you ended up neglecting what Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage left you, what would they think?" He stared straight at Naruto. "If you failed in your mission, what would you think of yourself? Even if you pull off dealing with the issue conveniently using the word 'hope' the hollow reality is just there waiting. Both the ones who entrusted and the one who was entrusted with will just be hollow.

When Naruto spoke, Kakashi was surprised to hear the Kyuubi's voice.

"Sorry but this guy doesn't suit your words! The Fourth Hokage entrusted me to Naruto. We became friends and now he's able to use my chakra. The Fourth sealed me into Naruto to take you down!" he growled. Naruto took over again, "my dream is to become a Hokage greater than any other. I'm not going to let you or anyone else stop me!"

Naruto switched to kyuubi mode again and began another attack on Madara.

"Kakashi, we should…" Gai trailed off as he looked at his friend.

Kakashi looked forlorn and deep in thought. He wasn't present, Gai could see that much.

"Kakashi!" Gai yelled getting the man's attention. "Are you listening to me?! It's important to create diversions while attacking him. Let's fight, too." Gai paused as he looked at the battlefield. "I can guess what you're thinking about now. It's the same for me, but leave it be for a while. It's no time to indulge in feelings! Naruto is your student and he went ahead before you!"

"How stupid to try and attack me all on your own!" they heard Madara say to Naruto.

The Eight Tails was helping block any attacks Madara sent flying toward Naruto. As a result, the Eight Tails lost a tentacle to large shuriken.

"I'm not attacking alone!" Naruto growled as he switched to full kyuubi form. "You forgot about Kurama and Uncle B-san, and Hattsan, super eyebrows-sensei, and Kakashi-sensei are here, too!"

"You're always ahead of me in our battles." Gai said turning to look at Kakashi. "Surely, you won't suddenly grow senile because of this, right, Kakashi?"

"Let's go, Gai," Kakashi said opening his left eye to reveal the sharingan again.

"My rival!" Gai yelled. "That's the spirit!"

Madara scoffed at Kakashi, "I'm not afraid of some borrowed power that can only be used a bunch of times. I'll show you the power of the real Kamui!"

Kakashi and Gai ran off towards the heat of the battle as Naruto and B fended off all of Madara's attacks.

Madara summoned chains with chakra receivers and pinned the Eight Tails with them.

"Naruto, these have a seal that block the bijuu's power," he yelled. "Don't touch them!"

"Uncle B cover me for a while," Naruto said.

"Okay, I'll shield you!" B said moving the tentacles to follow Naruto and block attacks if they came close. Naruto created a tailed beast ball inside of a rasengan. He rushed towards Madara and as he reached the masked man's face, Madara became intangible again. Kakashi used kamui to send Naruto's attack to the other dimension. Kakashi collapsed on the ground, his sharingan bleeding freely.

"Kakashi!" Gai yelled running to his aid.

"You were too fast with that strike, Kakashi," Madara tisked. "You weren't even able to make the rasengan vanish. You used your kamui in vain."

"I still have the tailed beast ball!" Naruto yelled commanding Madara's attention. Naruto sent the giant ball of energy toward Madara. Madara became intangible completely and in the other dimension, Naruto's shadow clone was waiting with the rasengan.

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto yelled forcing the rasengan into Madara's mask shattering it to pieces.

Kakashi swore he felt his heart stop. His mind rushed to every memory he had of him. The academy, the genin team, the chuunin exams, the war, his subsequent death at Kannabi Bridge. There, standing in front of him, was the man he had thought to have died seventeen years ago, his best friend, Uchiha Obito.


End file.
